Iran’s ‘Power’ Play: Selling Energy to Desperate States

New financial sanctions imposed by the United States and European Union are making it difficult for Iran to pay for staple food and other imports, causing hardship for its 74 million people with just weeks to go before an election.

General James Jones (ret.), former national security adviser to President Obama, told CBS news later that month that sanctions were making Iran “squirm,” and that “[due to] skyrocketing inflation, their access to capital is diminished.”

Nevertheless, Iran is not now disintegrating or begging for mercy. How are the mullahs propping up their rule while still exerting influence abroad? Showing real pragmatism and demonstrating the so-called Persian “Bazaar Culture,” Iran has looked regionally and globally for states with exploitable energy problems. This tactic is backed by Iran’s extensive oil and gas reserves, as well as its standing as the third largest builder of dams on Earth.

From 2008 to 2010, Pakistan was shutting down power for three to six hours a day. In Faisalabad alone, 300,000 jobs were lost due to electricity problems. According to journalist Naseem Sheikh: “The same is happening to other big industrial cities like Gujranwala, Multan, Lahore, and Rawalpindi.” The Washington Post even printed the headline “Pakistan’s power crisis may eclipse terrorist threat.” Suffering from a rapidly expanding population and lacking domestic supplies of gas and oil (over 60 percent of Pakistan’s electricity output relies on gas or oil), Pakistan desperately needs energy.

Seeing an exploitable angle, Tehran first opened negotiations with Pakistan in 1993 to develop and construct a pipeline. As Pakistan’s energy security situation grew more dire, its interest in the pipeline increased.

The economies of the West are in trouble and not in a position to help us. … Our priority is the needs of our population of nearly 200 million people.

As talk of sanctions and increased international awareness of Iran’s nuclear program made headlines, Iran decided to pitch India (in 2007), China (in 2008), and Bangladesh (in 2010) to join with Pakistan in creating a larger pipeline that could satisfy their energy needs.

All of these countries are energy-starved, have rather friendly relations with Iran (Bangladesh and China have both been supportive of Iran’s nuclear ambitions), have rapidly expanding economies, and have growing populations.

1 Comments, 1 Threads

All the more reason to drill and develop more of our own energy here at home in the United States. Between oil, coal, and natural gas, we not only could become independent from Middle Eastern oil but we could also probably sell any surpluses we have to other countries, thereby extending our own influence around the world. But no, as long and Obama and the Democrats are in office, they would rather see us crawl to some Middle Eastern dictator for oil rather than get our own. And please, spare us the “green” technology out there. It hasn’t worked for years and is incredibly expensive to produce. There is no good reason why we should not drill, unless of course you like being controlled by the Saudis or the Iranians.